Hugs from Grandma

When Greeley West’s No. 2 singles competitor, Matt Krammer, came off the tennis court after taking first place in the Class 4A Northern Conference, eastern division, regional tournament, it was all Joan Ford could do to give him that big hug only grandmas can give.

“You made me a little nervous there for a while,” she said in a loving tone.

Grandma, who still plays tennis at 73, had an important role in getting Krammer and his seven brothers and sisters interested in the sport, so of course he works to make her proud.

Friday, the 16-year-old did that and more, proving he is No. 1-seed worthy by beating Eaton’s Nick Smallwood, 7-5, 6-3, at Centennial Courts and receiving a first-place seed at the state tournament in Pueblo next weekend.

Smallwood advances as the second place representative of this region.

The victory wasn’t easy for Krammer, though. “Relieved,” was all he could think of to say at first.

“Wow,” Krammer said. “He got so much tougher since the beginning of the season.”

Krammer beat Smallwood, 6-0, 6-0, earlier in the year. But Smallwood’s determination showed in his improvement and the 15 minute, game-point deuces he forced Krammer into several times during the match, including game 10 of the first set that tied it up at 5-5.

“Tennis is just something to do for fun,” Krammer said. “I really don’t want to do this professionally or anything. But when you hear everyone cheering him on, it really gets you down.”

Krammer couldn’t hear any cheers of his own because his teammates were also competing in championship matches. But after they were done, Krammer’s lengthy match brought them to the bleachers.

“It really helped a lot,” he said. “You don’t know how much.”

West coach Robb Audette said one of the things he likes most about Krammer is his ability to regroup.

“He has played a lot of tennis and seen a lot of different styles in his life,” Audette said. “What’s nice is he is always able to regain his focus when he loses it.”

“He has come a long way,” Audette said. “For him to skip No. 1 doubles and win this tournament the way he came back to win, is a huge accomplishment.”

WILD FINISH: Greeley Central coach Ed Rogers is dreaming big tonight after getting a surprising finish from his young team. All four Central doubles teams will make the trip to Pueblo.

SLAM DUNK: West took full advantage of the opportunities given it in the final day of the competition. The Spartans returned 6-of-7 positions to the championship match, and all came out with the No. 1 spot.